Drainage & Water Resources Section Manager

Job title - Drainage & Water Resources Section Manager

Location - Chicago, IL

Job type - Hybrid

Requisition ID - 11261

Are you motivated, energetic and connected with clients, contractors and subconsultants in the A/E/C industry? Is your passion for leading transportation projects contagious? Do you enjoy executing winning strategies for pursuits? Is work/life balance important to you? If this describes you, we are looking for a talented and ambitious Transportation Drainage and Water Resources Section Manager in our Chicago, IL office to lead our technical staff and project managers. This position offers an exciting opportunity to lead and grow a transportation design team for an ENR Top 100 Design Firm. The successful candidate will be well versed in transportation design and project management with entities throughout the state of Illinois. The Section Manager role will require mentoring young engineers and engineering interns, leading senior level engineers and designers, and growing and developing a passionate engineering team. Project planning, workload distribution, and effective communication skills are essential.

This entrepreneurial individual will provide engineering and project management expertise on highway and drainage projects including roadway studies and design, drainage and utility systems, preparation of construction documents, cost estimates, project scheduling, and overall project management. The successful candidate must be able to work effectively and communicate regularly with internal leadership; municipal clients; and federal, state, and local agencies. This position offers exciting challenges and opportunities for managing all activities related to project scope, schedule, cost, quality, communications, and resource management, leading a team of engineers with varying levels of experience, assisting in transportation and water market business development, and participating in professional organizations and technical committees.

• Serve as the drainage and water resources technical lead on projects, providing oversight of design, analyses, and deliverables.
• Serve, as needed, as Project Manager, Project Lead, or Task Lead on transportation and site civil projects.
• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing team of project managers, engineers, and interns to support growth in the Illinois transportation drainage market.
• Manage the preparation of drainage designs and construction documents, including storm sewer systems, detention facilities, flood control, open channels, and erosion control.
• Lead the development of drainage studies and reports, including drainage studies, hydraulic reports, and conceptual drainage evaluations.
• Develop and evaluate drainage alternatives and recommend preferred solutions based on technical, regulatory, and cost considerations.
• Lead regulatory coordination and permitting efforts, including stormwater, floodplain, and agency approvals.
• Manage project delivery, including scope development, fee estimating, budgeting, scheduling, staffing, and subconsultant coordination.
• Support business development through client relationship management, marketing strategy, proposal preparation, and interviews.
• Establish and maintain project quality through QA/QC oversight and adherence to company and agency standards.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for clients and represent the firm in meetings, presentations, and industry engagement.

This position offers exciting challenges and opportunities to grow the Illinois program while managing all activities related to project scope, schedule, cost, quality, communications, and resources; mentoring young staff engineers, assisting in transportation market business development, and participating in professional organizations and technical committees.

Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from an accredited program.

Minimum 10 years of drainage and water resources experience.

Illinois Professional Engineer (PE) license or ability to obtain within 6 months.

Experience with Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Illinois Tollway, and county/local drainage and transportation standards and procedures.

Demonstrated experience producing roadway drainage design, including plans, profiles, calculations, drainage reports, and estimates.

Experience preparing drainage studies and reports, including hydraulic analyses and Phase I deliverables.

Proven experience using drainage design and hydraulics/hydrology modeling software, including Open Roads Designer & StormCAD, PondPack, HY-8, HEC-RAS, XPSWMM, and other industry-standard tools.

Ability to coordinate with multidisciplinary teams, mentor staff, and support project scoping, proposals, and delivery.

Experience with alternative delivery projects.